When I went back, it was already very late.

As soon as Xiao Jue returned to the yard where he lived, a yellow dog rushed towards him excitedly, biting the corner of his robe without letting go.

He squatted down and touched the yellow dog's head. The puppy became more and more obedient. While wagging his tail fiercely at him, he bit his sleeve and pulled it back wildly.

Virtue is exactly the same as its master.

The night after visiting He Mansion at night, the yellow dog named Ermao ran out of the dug dog hole. Since He Yan raised it, it was naturally impossible to throw it away. However, He Rufei was crazy now looking for the thief who was that night. He Yan was afraid that he would find the He family, so he entrusted Ermao to Xiao Jue. No matter how brave He Rufei was, he would not dare to climb to the Xiao family's door, so naturally he could not find Ermao.

Xiao Jue could only bring Ermao back to the Xiao family.

The little girl named Ginkgo in the yard liked Ermao very much. She took a bath for it and combed her hair cleanly, and she finally didn't look like a stray dog. She also used a red rope to tie the broken hairs around her ears into two small tugs.

Although Ermao is obviously a male dog.

Xiao Jue was teasing the dog, but a voice came from behind him: "Huai Jin... When did you raise a dog in the mansion?"

Xiao Jue stood up and turned around. Xiao Jing and Bai Rongwei stood by the yard, and their eyes looked at him were a little strange.

As we all know, the second son of the Xiao family loves sanity and pays attention to it. It's okay to be in the military camp every day, but when he returns to Shuojing, he is even more picky. The Xiao family never raises any birds, and there are no animals in the palace except the green ears.

This little dog looks like an ordinary farm dog. Its fur is yellow and a little black mixed with it, so it should not be a precious thing.

Xiao Jue looked down at Ermao, who was silently "Woom" at him.

"Help others raise it."

"Who will ask you to help raise a dog?" Xiao Jing laughed, "It's too hard."

Bai Rongwei pressed Xiao Jing with his arm and said with a smile: "There should be only Miss He who can ask Huaijin to help raise dogs in Shuojing City."

Xiao Jing suddenly realized and looked at Xiao Jue with a little more comfort. This younger brother was always too cold and inhumane to women. Now it seems that he is quite good at pleaseing girls.

During the day, Bai Rongwei had already held a banquet for Xiao Jue in the mansion to celebrate his birthday. He also knew that he would accompany He Yan to the night market tonight. There was a lot of food at the night market, so he did not leave any food for Xiao Jue tonight.

"Brother and sister-in-law are still waiting for me so late," Xiao Jue asked, "What's the matter?"

Xiao Jing approached him, looked at Ermao who was playing in the yard with snow, and smiled and said, "Do you know that the Fourth Master Chu in Shi Jin's mansion will marry Miss Xu next month."

Xiao Jue nodded absent-mindedly.

"You and the Fourth Prince of Chu were given a marriage together by Your Majesty." Xiao Jing said: "Now the Fourth Prince of Chu's wedding date has been set. Your marriage, your sister-in-law and I want to ask, what day will we plan to set?"

Xiao Jue was slightly stunned.

"Your brother and I have talked with Mr. He before. Mr. He said that as long as Miss He likes him, he is nothing. After all, Miss He is a girl's home, so I don't have to ask too much," Bai Rongwei looked at Xiao Jue, "You are with Miss He all the time, have you ever talked about this with her?"

The Xiao family is very open-minded. When Xiao Zhongwu and Mrs. Xiao were alive, Xiao Jing wanted to marry Bai Rongwei, the concubine daughter. Mrs. Xiao disagreed and finally followed Xiao Jing's wishes. Now Xiao Zhongwu and his wife are gone, and Xiao Jing and Bai Rongwei will not interfere in making decisions for Xiao Jue's marriage. Everything depends on Xiao Jue's wishes.

"I plan to get married after the New Year." Xiao Jue said.

Bai Rongwei and Xiao Jing looked at each other and saw the surprise in each other's eyes. They thought it would take a year or two, but they didn't expect Xiao Jue to make a decision so quickly. It's good, it seems that Xiao Jue likes this Miss He even more than they imagined.

"Since that's the case, I will give you the birthdays and horoscopes of your two of you tomorrow and let him choose a good day for you. You have to discuss with Master He what to do next. Don't worry about the betrothal gift. Rubi and I have prepared for you a long time." Bai Rong smiled and was full of real happiness. He took Xiao Jing's hand and said, "I'll ask someone to send a post to Mr. Huai Jin, you've been tired for a day today. First, go back to the house and have a good rest. I'll talk to you again tomorrow morning."

Xiao Jue nodded, and Bai Rongwei pulled Xiao Jing away with satisfaction.

Xiao Jue looked at the backs of the two of them, and he did not come to his senses until Ermao came to pull his boots again.

In the past, I only felt that the yard was empty and cold, but now I have only one puppy and a mute who can't bark, but it seems that it suddenly becomes lively.

He lowered his head and smiled, and did not go back to the house, but turned around and walked towards the other end of the ancestral hall.

In the Xiao family's ancestral hall, the tablets of Xiao Zhongwu and his wife were placed in the front. Xiao Jue walked aside and took out the incense from the cage and lit it.

Blue smoke rose.

Xiao Jue's face was hidden behind the smoke, and his expression was diluted.

As long as he returns to Shuojing, he often comes to the Buddhist temple. When thundering, when sacrificial sacrifices... when he is bored.

He is not a person who likes to talk to. In life, there are too few people who can talk to him. Everyone has their own suffering, so why share the taste with others? At the most difficult time, when he was pointed at the back of the literati in Guocheng, he was scolded by a literati on his back and pointed at his back when he returned to the mansion, he just went to the ancestral hall to light three incense sticks.

After sing the three incense sticks, everything will remain the same.

Many tastes in the world need to be felt bit by bit by bit. When he was young, he saw everything and felt that everything was boring. He actually yearned for the fireworks of the world, but the fireworks of the world avoided him. How successful is the young man in the aristocratic family who was furnished and furnished? Everyone thinks he is the high moon in the sky, but in fact the moon is just a lonely boy.

He had friends, and then his friends betrayed him. He also looked forward to his family, and then his family left. His most unrestrained youth, but in just a few years, the only candy left in life was also given to the seeker who met on the road. Over the years, he had been alone and left nothing, until one day, a smiling girl rushed into his life and said to him, I like the moon, but the moon doesn't know.

He has never been as sure as he is now.

Xiao Jue raised his eyes and looked at the tablet behind Qingyan.

"Father, mother," his voice calmly, as if he was saying an unshakable oath, "I like someone."

"I want to marry her."

...

In Hefu, there were dense coughs in a yard.

The maid who was staying in the outer room of the yard was so quarrel that she turned over and said in a daze: "Mrs. Second Lady is coughing again, go and have a look."

"I won't go," the other maid next to her turned over and said impatiently: "If you don't even care about the second master, why should we be troubled? It'll be fine in the daytime. If you want to go, you will."

"It's so cold that I won't go." The maid who spoke covered her head with the quilt, "Just pretend that she didn't hear it."

The coughing sounds continued outside, and after a while, it seemed like it was deliberately suppressed, and made a few muffled groans.

Mrs. He Er held up with difficulty, and her throat felt as if it was burned by fire. The handkerchief in her hand had already spread out large clusters of blood. She took a breath and then groped for a while to light the lamp.

He Yuanliang hasn't been to her yard for a long time. To be precise, after the time in Yuhua Temple, she was confined to He's house, so He Yuanliang refused to take a look.

This was actually something Mrs. He had expected long ago. Her husband was a villain, a cowardly and greedy villain. Now he was even more afraid of offending He Rufei, so he hurriedly made a clear relationship with himself, even if she was his first wife.

The first wife, Mrs. He Er smiled sarcastically, so what about the first wife? He can even take ruthless measures to treat his biological daughter. For him, his first wife who is not related to blood is no different from a stranger.

Mrs. He Er looked at the flames jumping in the oil lamp.

She is the eldest daughter of the family. She married He Yuanliang by her father's decision, which means she has a place among the nobles in Shuojing. In her original family, her daughter's marriage paved the way for the career of her father and brother. Unexpectedly, she married the He family, and the same was true for her.

Unfortunately, she was not in good luck and gave birth to two daughters, so her child became a victim of the He family.

Mrs. He hated He Rufei for being cruel and ruthless, and hated He Yuansheng and his wife for the idea of ​​changing their children. He Yuanliang was cowardly and incompetent, and she hated herself for watching the wall. Most of the time, she hated herself.

I hate myself for being powerless to change everything.

If she could give birth to a son, perhaps with a son, He Yuansheng would not be so arrogant in his work. But she didn't, so she could not protect He Yan or He Xinying.

There was a knock on the door outside.

Mrs. He Er said, "Come in."

The girl came in, looking at her face.

Mrs. He Er asked: "Who are you?"

"I Cuiluo is the maid in the yard." Cuiluo replied respectfully, holding a pot of hot water in her hand. "I went outside to get some hot water, and the second lady drank some water to avoid coughing." She walked to the table, picked up a tea bowl, poured a glass of water and handed it to Mrs. He Er.

The water was just right and not hot. Mrs. He Er took a sip and the tingling pain in her throat suddenly improved. She said, "Thank you."

Cuiluo lowered her head and whispered: "It's all what I should do. If the second wife has something else to do, I'll just explain it."

"Everyone in my yard thinks I no longer exist." Mrs. He Er smiled bitterly and said, "Why bother you?"

"The master of my servant is Mrs. He Er, so I naturally have to listen to Mrs. Er's instructions." Cuiluo's voice did not change at all.

Mrs. He was slightly stunned and couldn't help but look at the maid in front of her seriously.

The maid of the He family was strictly disciplined by He Yuansheng and his wife. They used to be a little lively, but now they are dull because of their fear of He Rufei. The servants always look trembling and timid. The maid stands here, neither humble nor arrogant, and looks at her without respect or overrepresentation, as if she treats an ordinary person.

Mrs. He Er's heart moved and asked tentatively: "Can you really help me with anything?"

"Mrs. Second Lady, just give orders."

"Can you find a doctor for me?"

Cuiluo was silent for a moment before saying, "I'm afraid these days won't work, but I can bring some pills for the second wife first."

Mrs. He suddenly understood something.

She sat forward a little, her voice lowered a little, "You are not from Hefu, who is your master?"

Cuiluo looked at Mrs. He Er in surprise. Master Feinu said that she wanted her to sneak into the He Mansion to secretly take care of Mrs. He Er, and she did do so. It seems that Mrs. He Er has almost no status in the He family, and the maids below don’t take her seriously. He Yuanliang is so sick that He Yuanliang never took the initiative to come to see her, nor does he ask for a doctor for her. Just tonight, if Cuiluo had not entered the house, Mrs. He Er would have to cough until dawn.

She always felt that this was an ordinary woman who was a little cowardly and incompetent. Now that she heard this, she realized that this woman was originally smart and visionary.

Cuiluo didn't speak.

"Your master, is General Feng Yun?" Mrs. He Er asked in a low voice.

Cuiluo was even more surprised.

Mrs. He Er laughed, she smiled for a while, and her expression became serious again, saying, "I know what your master wants to do. Go back and tell him that I can help him, but as the price of the transaction, he must protect my daughter He Xinying."

Cuiluo was silent for a while, said nothing, and just put the kettle on the table and said softly: "If your wife has orders, please call me in." After that, she closed the door and left.

Mrs. He Er looked at the hot tea on the table, not knowing what she was thinking. After a long time, she swallowed the fishy smell in her throat and lay down again.

...

One night passed, and early the next morning, Feinu brought back the news about He's family.

In the study, Xiao Jue frowned slightly: "Trade?"
To be continued...